Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-11-30
A COLOSSUS or PuAROAH.
A stone Figure Of the Prosecutor OF
the Esrneittes.


A Boston rpecial says: The Egypt Ex-
ploration Fund Society, through its
American vice president, the Rev Or.
W. c. Winslow, Of Boston, has pre-
sented the Museum Of Fine Arts with a
very valuable colossus Of Rameses H.,
the most renowned OF all the monarchs
of ancient Egypt, and Bibllcally known
as the Pharoah who compelled the Is
raelites TO build tho treasure cities
Pithom and Rameses. This colossus
was disclosed by Mr.. Griffith Mt
Nebesheh. which is a few miles
from the site Of Tanis (the BIbli-
cal Zoan), and overlooks the " fields OF
Zoan," where the "wouders " occurred.
The interesting remoins OF the twelfth
and thirteenth. as well as the nineteenth,
dynasties, (the last named being that OF
Rameses) at Nebesheh, the site of Am,
the capital OF the nineteenth Nome, will
be fully described in the society's me-
moir, Ianis, Part H., now in prepare
ton. Photographs of the site represent
a vast chamber excavated deep into the
ground, where lie the massive tiers OF
the temples foundations, on and about
which are fragmentsry monuments, with
sphinx Of the twelfth dynasty IN the
foreground, and in the background the
Colossus of kameses reposlng lSnoml-
niously on its side.
The colossus, placed at the entrance TO
the Egyptian room from the main hall,
is the most striking object Of the'Egyp-
tian antiquities. so lar as the writer
knows it is the only colossus Of Rameses
II. i'll the United States, and the only
regret is thata portion of the nose should
be wanting. 1t is sitting figure, finely
cut in dark gray granite, and bears the
usual names and titles. Its dimensions
are as follows: Height with pedestal, 9
feet 3 inches greatest width, 3 feet q
inches; frontage, , feet inches feet.
AZ inches hands, 9! inches; forefngcr,
inches; face. from chin 10 headdress
on the forehead, TO- inches. The
weight, exclusive of the pedestal, eK-
ceeds three tons.
On the belt is inscribed, "Ramcses
Mer Anon" On the right side the in
scription in hieroGlyphics reads: " Ncb
Taui Ra User Ma Sotop On RIA "; that Is,
Lord of the Two Lands, &C, Upper
and Lower Egypt) On the left side are
the words, "Neb Khaul Ramoscs Mer
Anon that is, "Lord of Diadems,
&c. On the back are three perpendicu-
lar lines, the first reading, "Rut Mennu
Neb Rutaa en- Neb Khani," meaning,
Monuments all consecrate to the great
coDsecrated Lord OF Diadems, Rameses
Mer Anon" The plural Of monuments
is given, as there were two CO.
lossi, one being badly shattered.
Line second reads: "Nefur Nutcr Sch
TAM (&c.) Sc Ia Neb Khan, (&c. -
that is, 1.-The good God, light of the two
lands" IRA User Ma Sotop On Ra ~;
Son of Ra, Lord of diadem, Rameses
Mer Anon The last line reads "Rut
Mennu Neb Ruta-a Hor Neb TAM ~
that is, Monuments consecrated to the
great consecrated over Lord of the two
lands"
There is more apparent breadth to the
face of this colossus than really exists,
owing to the injury to the nose, which
may possibly be repaired. Some of the
accepted types of the face of Rameses
ii. have less breadth but the resem-
blancc TO the famous fragment with per
feet face from the Ramesseum, now in the
British Museum, is quite marked a
picture of this appeared in the CcntDry
.Nagaeiac for May, 1887, page -. The
photograph of the head of Kameses in
the Egypt exploration funds memoir,
"Tanis or Zoan, plate II. reproduced
in Harpcr's N0ga1iHC for October, 1856,
page 724, has the same expression which
characterizes the face Of the Rameses in
the museum. 1t is that OF repose, dig
nifty, indifference to human suffering.
combined with determined viii and
kingly pride. The best preserved Of the
colossal faces at Abou Simbel is of the
same cast or outline as the Rameses in
Boston.
The Egypt exploration fund also pre-
sents the museum with fine profile of
Rameses in limestone, from Nebesheh,
which may safely be pronounced to be
one of the most beautiful specimens OF
skillful work Of the kind that + Gypt has
vet furnished to archaeology. The frag-
ment, weighing but 200 pounds, is an
exquisite memento of the rare ability OF
the artists in the Ramesside period.